“And he just got up and said, ‘Then we have nothing to
discuss,’ and he just walked out.

“Again, we saw a temper tantrum because he couldn’t get
his way.”

The New York senator also said Mr Trump had “slammed
the table”, but Vice-President Mike Pence disputed this.

“The president walked into the room and passed out
candy,” he said. “I don’t recall him ever raising his voice or
slamming his hand.”

Kevin McCarthy, Republican leader in the House of
Representatives, said he found the Democrats’ behaviour
“embarrassing”.

Though Republican leaders and Mr Trump insist the party is
“totally unified” behind him, several moderate senators are wavering.

In the meantime, China’s ambassador to Canada accused the country Wednesday of “white supremacy” in calling for the release of two Canadians detained in China last month, while describing the detentions as an “act of self-defense.”

The arrests were in apparent retaliation for the arrest of a
top Chinese tech executive in Canada.

But Ambassador Lu Shaye’s charged in op-ed in the
Ottawa-based Hill Times that Western countries are employing a “double
standard” in demanding the immediate release of the Canadians.

“The reason why some people are used to arrogantly
adopting double standards is due to Western egotism and white supremacy,”
Lu writes.

“What they have been doing is not showing respect for
the rule of law, but mocking and trampling the rule of law.”

China detained Canadian ex-diplomat Michael Kovrig and entrepreneur Michael Spavor on Dec. 10 on vague allegations of “engaging in activities that endanger the national security” of China.

In the op-ed, Lu seemed to admit detaining the Canadians was
in retaliation for the arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou, something China
has previously denied.

“I have recently heard a word repeatedly pronounced by
some Canadians: bullying. They said that by arresting two Canadian citizens as
retaliation for Canada’s detention of Meng, China was bullying Canada. To those
people, China’s self-defence is an offence to Canada,” Lu wrote.

The arrests came 10 days after Meng was arrested in Canada
at the request of the U.S., which wants her extradited to face charges that she
misled banks about the company’s business dealings in Iran. A Canadian judge
granted Meng bail while she awaits extradition proceedings.

Le writes that “elites” in Canada are completely
dismissing China’s law by demanding the immediate release of the Canadians.

“It seems that, to those people, the laws of Canada or
other Western countries are laws and must be observed, while China’s laws are
not and shouldn’t be respected,” Lu writes.

Lu also writes that Meng was arrested without violating any
Canadian law, suggesting that Canada should never detain someone for
extradition.

“It seems that, to some people, only Canadian citizens
shall be treated in a humanitarian manner and their freedom deemed valuable,
while Chinese people do not deserve that,” he writes.

“I don’t know what the ambassador was trying to
accomplish but his article won’t help China’s cause. The reference to white
supremacy was bizarre and unfortunate,” Paris said.

“There is false equivalency in this article. Canada is
a rule of law country. China is a rule by law country and the distinction is
important. Meng was not illegally detained as the ambassador claims.”

Paris noted Canada is following the letter of the
extradition law it has with the U.S. and while the Canadians were grabbed in
China under suspicious circumstances and China has held them without charge.

Julian Ku, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at
Hofstra Law, called Lu’s claims ridiculous and said he is playing the race card
in an apparent effort to win sympathy from Chinese Canadians and Americans.

“He’s making it seem like the two legal proceedings are
morally equivalent and they are not,” he said. “On one side you have
due process, which makes a huge difference, and the other side you don’t, but
he says it’s all the same.”

Ku noted China has still not revealed any specific
information about what Kovrig and Spavor are charged with and have not given
them a judicial hearing and thus Canada is not wrong with calling the arrests
arbitrary.

“I am struck by how brazen they are being by making
this appeal,” Ku said. “He says “You are being racist by not
respecting our law.’ That’s an easy card to play.”

A message for the Chinese embassy in Ottawa was not
immediately returned.

Alex Lawrence, a spokesman for Canadian Foreign Minister
Chrystia Freeland, did not address Lu’s claims, but reiterated that Canada is
“deeply concerned by the arbitrary detention by Chinese authorities of two
Canadians last month and reiterate our call for their immediate release.”

Canada has embarked on a campaign with allies to win the release of the detained Canadians. The U.S., the U.K. the EU and Australia have issued statements in support. Trudeau called U.S. President Donald Trump this week about it and the White House called the arrests of the Canadians “unlawful.” Trudeau spoke with Donald Tusk, President of the European Council, on Wednesday and thanked him.

“Canada remains closely engaged with partners, who have also spoken in support of these detained Canadians and the rule of law, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the EU, the United States, and Australia,” Lawrence said.

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